Our Mission

The Mission of the Institute is to provide an independent forum for those who dare to read, think, speak, and write in order to advance the professional, literary, and scientific understanding of sea power and other issues critical to national defense.

“Colonel Frank Kowalski's An Inoffensive Rearmament is a prime resource for anyone seeking a better understanding of Japan in the post-WWII era. Rich with insights into the JSDF's earliest history, this memoir reads as easily and compellingly as (the best of) the pop-history genre. You will learn, through his eyes, how the Japanese JSDF came to be what it is today."

—General James L. Jones, USMC (Ret.), President and CEO, Jones Group International

Praisefor An Inoffensive Rearmament:

“A reader that experienced the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan will appreciate An Inoffensive Rearmament. Written by a key leader charged to develop the National Police Reserve (later the Self-Defense Forces) in post-World War II Japan, the work provides remarkable insights into how the United States handled a partner nation that was once an enemy. Translated from the original Japanese, the work balances the political scene and mercurial relationship between post-World war II Japan and pre-Korean War United States.”

—Military Review

“This book gives a close and detailed look at Japan, as she sought to return to being a political and economic power on the world stage. In concluding his story, the author asks the question, 'Where would Japan sit today upon the world stage if the Korean War had not been fought?' The book provides an excellent case study of unforeseen and unwanted consequences resulting from a political-military action. In this case, an action that sought to conquer South Korea failed and resulted in the promotion of both South Korea and Japan as world economic powers. This is a book well worth reading by anyone interested in American foreign policy, modern Japanese history, or the U.S. Army’s role in nation building.”

—Journal of America's Military Past

“This book, previously available only to Japanese readers, is an essential source for understanding the origins of Japan’s post?World War II defense forces and their role in United States-Japan security cooperation.”

—Roger Dingman, author of Deciphering the Rising Sun

“This memoir is an important record of Japanese-American military diplomacy that has oddly been available only in Japanese. The United States got the foundation for an army, but Kowalski, who was deeply involved in this process, argues that American and Japanese officials sacrificed long-term interests for short-term gain. This topic is still a controversial one on both sides of the Pacific and Robert Eldridge has provided an enormous service in making this English translation available.”

—Nicholas Evan Sarantakes, associate professor, U.S. Naval War College, and author of Allies against the Rising Sun

Col. Frank Kowalski served as the Chief of Staff of the American military advisory group that helped establish the National Police Reserve, the predecessor to the Japan Self-Defense Forces during its first two years of existence. His work provides a detailed account of the manning, logistics, and personalities involved in standing up—on short notice—of a force of approximately 75,000, while sharing insights about the diplomatic, political, legal, and constitutional challenges his headquarters and his Japanese counterparts faced in rearming Japan in the wake of the sudden outbreak of the Korean War. Published in Japanese in 1969, this is the first English version of this edition, and includes a biographic section about Kowalski.

Col. Frank Kowalski, USA, and member of Congress from Connecticut, died in 1974. He was Chief Military Governor in Kyoto, Japan, 1948-49 and Deputy Chief of Civil Affairs in Japan 1950-52. Robert Eldridge is as the deputy assistant chief of staff for Marine Corps Installations Pacific. He is the co-editor and translator of Fighting Spirit.